White Bean, Walnut, and Sage Burgers

This is another one of those posts where the picture does not do the recipe justice. I’ve got to work on that. Trust me, these were the best veggie burgers I’ve made in a long time, and I’ve made a lot. I am pretty sure it was the flavor from the generous amount of sage and the texture from the chopped nuts.

I made these burgers using the recipe for White Bean, Pecan, and Sage Burgers from Real Food Has Curves, and just swapped the walnuts for pecans. The mixture came together in my food processor fairly easily. Instead of frying the burgers, I baked them at 375F for about 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. I am sure they would be great cooked in oil, but it was just easier for me to pop them in the oven.

I placed a burger in a whole wheat pita pocket filled with lettuce and cucumber, and then added a dollop of plain yogurt. It was a nice light summer meal, with leftovers for the next day. The whole combination reminded of falafel, and next time I may form the bean mixture into balls and bake them that way. But any way you make these they are bound to be great!

Tofu Croutons

Tofu can be so….controversial. Some people love it, some hate it, and some don’t understand it. Some people just aren’t sure what to do with it, and those are the ones I am here to help today.

I tried this Perfect Baked Tofu recipe from Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point. First, you make a marinade with oil, honey, and spices. Then you cube the tofu and toss the cubes in the marinade, and bake for 30 minutes. The recipe is so easy! But I over baked the tofu…..by a lot. I kind of liked these crispy spicy-sweet cubes so I used them as croutons in this salad of Romaine, cucumbers, and feta. The tofu is more of an accent here than the focus of the dish, and that’s often an easy way to introduce new foods into your diet. The croutons made this salad a lot more interesting, and they turned out to be a delicious mistake.

Kale Salad with Parmesan and Lemon

I came home from Allandale Farm with dinosaur kale, which is a bit different from the curly variety I usually buy. The leaves are darker and softer as well.

People rave about Kale Chips, but I prefer using kale for massaged salad. I found this recipe for Kale Salad with Pecorino and Lemon, and decided to use both the dino kale and the Swiss chard to create a larger salad. The first step is to cut the stems out of the leaves, and then cut the leaves in a chiffonade. You basically need to roll the leaves up and slice, and this video provides a good demonstration. Then you combine the cut greens with olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and let it sit for at least an hour. You can garnish it with the sharp cheese of your choice, and serve.

After just an hour, the leaves were as tender as spinach, and full of flavor. I think the combination of kale and chard worked well to provide some variety. A bowl full of greens is the perfect base for any meal.

Allandale Farm

Summer is officially here, and I decided to celebrate with a trip to Allandale Farm. It was a short trip, since the farm is located right in Brookline, MA. The farm store is open everyday, which is incredibly convenient. I was lucky enough to get a personal tour from Jess, a friend from grad school and fellow RD-to-be.

The farm store had a decent selection of seasonal produce, as well as other local products including bread, baked goods, maple syrup, and honey.

I was tempted by many things, but in the end I purchased a container of sugar snap peas, a bunch of dinosaur kale, and a bunch of Swiss chard. You’ll see what I did with the kale and chard tomorrow, but the sugar snap peas I ate straight from the container. All day long. See, that’s the effect of having freshly picked produce around!

Allandale Farm is now on my radar as a place to hit up for locally grown produce, and I am sure I’ll be back!

Trader Joe’s Baby Beets

Sometimes when I go to Trader Joe’s I race in to grab a pound or two of whole wheat pizza dough, a package of veggie burgers, and a few 19 cent bananas. But sometimes I get to wander up and down the aisles, looking for new and useful food products. Last week, I spotted these baby beets. Now, roasting your own beets isn’t really difficult, but it raises the temperature of my house about 10 degrees which is great in January but not so much in June.

There are no other ingredients in the package, just steamed beets. And the beets are left whole, which makes them more appealing to me than their canned counterparts. This is the very best kind of convenience food, all vegetable.

You could just eat them right out of the package and I wouldn’t judge. Or you could slice them on a salad of Romaine and feta. Or you could toss them on a pizza. How you use these beets is up to you….

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

While my sister insists that one blogger per family is enough, she was actually the one that found this recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Cake and coordinated making it for Father’s Day. We had a party yesterday for three Dads, and made things they all loved like antipasto, steak, and chocolate cake.

The original post suggests using a devil’s food cake recipe from the Joy of Cooking, and normally we would make the cake from scratch. But there was a lot of other meal preparation required and a toddler underfoot, so on Saturday night we made the cake using a box mix. After the cakes had cooled, we sliced each one in half, creating 4 layers total. Using a tip from Smitten Kitchen we stuck the layers in the freezer which made them easier to work with on Sunday morning.

The cake may have been from a box, but the raspberry sauce was homemade, using frozen raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, and raspberry preserves. We also made the chocolate frosting using chocolate, butter, sugar, and whipping cream. The frosting seemed a little runny so I added some confectioner’s sugar, but it ended up almost too thick, so resist doing this yourself. Once the raspberry sauce and chocolate frosting were cooled, we were ready for the final assembly. The raspberry and chocolate layers are alternated, creating quite the tower of dessert, topped with fresh raspberries and a few dollops of sauce.

All three Dads seemed pleased with our efforts and enjoyed the cake. I hope everyone had a great Father’s Day weekend!

Celery Leaf Chicken Salad Wrap

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a great way to support local farmers. Plus, picking up a large variety of produce each week helps to ensure you get your servings of fruit and vegetables. I strongly believe in supporting local food, but it wasn’t practical for me to participate in a CSA this year.

Fortunately, I’ve been able to live vicariously through others as they enjoy the experience. I love hearing on Twitter and Facebook what everyone is picking up from the local farms. One of my coworkers is part of a CSA for the first time. She brought in one of her items to share, but wasn’t sure exactly what it was. She thought the farmer said “celery something” and some Googling revealed that this is celery leaf. The leaves and slender stalks are part of the celery plant. This herb tastes like celery, but without the stringy texture. The flavor is stronger than I expected, almost peppery.

I decided to put the celery leaf in a simple chicken salad wrap. I combined chopped chicken with a dab of mayonnaise, a dab of mustard, and chopped celery leaf, using both the leaves and stalks. Then I wrapped it up with some spinach, just to make sure there was enough green. It was a very tasty lunch, and the celery leaf really did perk up the otherwise boring chicken salad.

Thanks to MJ for sharing, and I look forward to hearing about next week’s pick-up.

Potatoes, Green Beans, and Egg Plate

This isn’t a real recipe, but I’ve eaten so many variations of this dish over the last couple of months that I just had to share it. It’s a perfectly simple weeknight dinner. This is how it goes for one person, but feel free to multiply as needed.

First, start with a potato. I’ve used both white and sweet, and either of them work well in this dish. Chop the potato, and steam the pieces either in the microwave or on the stove top. Then, heat about 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a frying pan, and saute the partially cooked potatoes for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned.
Add about 1 cup of cooked green beans to the pan. You can use fresh or frozen, and you can cook them in the microwave or on the stove top. Stir the beans and potatoes together until combined. Gather them into a pile in the center of the pan.
Now, crack an egg into the center. Cover the pan, and cook for 5 minutes. Lift the cover, add shredded cheese, replace the cover, and cook for 1-2 additional minutes until the egg is set.
Serve!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

A few weeks ago, I was craving peanut butter cookies, and tried a new cookie recipe. Unfortunately it was a flop, yielding cookies that were totally flat and crumbly. The recipe was from a good source, so I am going to assume it was a baker error.

This time I decided to try a much simpler recipe for Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, courtesy of Peanut Butter Boy. Because anyone named Peanut Butter Boy should know best! He’s the same guy who came up with the peanut butter and peach sandwich.

I am happy to say that these cookies came out better. The oats and crunchy peanut butter give the cookies some real texture. They are still a little dry, but that could be because I used natural peanut butter or because my oven runs hot. They have a pretty intense peanut flavor and are almost more nutty than sweet! Trust me, these will be enjoyed, but I just may need to keep looking for the perfect peanut butter cookie.

Uncle Sam’s Strawberry Cereal

One of the sponsors of Fitbloggin’ was Attune Foods. They’re the people that make Uncle Sam’s cereal and other products. Attune was very generous, and not only provided a great breakfast one morning, but also gave us coupons for free cereal so we could enjoy it back home.

I knew I liked the original Uncle Sam’s cereal, so I decided to try their Strawberry Cereal with my coupon. There’s no question that this is a sweetened cereal which I would consider a treat, but it still has plenty of fiber and some healthy fats. I added in some sliced banana and skim milk, and dove in. The cereal actually didn’t taste as sweet as I expected, and this variety still had the crunchy texture that I love. It was certainly delicious as a traditional bowl of cereal, but I think it might even be better as a topping for plain yogurt. I see a parfait ahead! Thanks attune…